Last Mile's diverse opportunities for cable operators

In a scenario where service providers are forever bemoaning the difficulties of the last mile, Last Mile Xpress-a home grown start-up company-has come up with innovative solutions that would see cable operators provide hi-speed data access to customers at minimal cost. The company's positioning would be to interface between the cable operator and the ISP and enable the cable operator to deliver broadband connectivity to homes with the help of their solutions.

The solution envisages the installation of a VSAT terminal at the cable operator's premise to be hooked to the ISP's network. It will also have a network management server and the traffic will be distributed to customers through a hub. According to the calculations shown by the company the total cost to the cable operator works out in the range of Rs 6.5 lakh which is far lower than the expenditure incurred in installing competing broadband technologies like DSL and cable modem.

Speaking about the project, Raghvendra Agarwal, Founder Director said, "Cable operators can now diversify their operations from being passive players to offering innovative services in the converged arena. Video on demand and games are some offerings that come to mind. The possibilities of new offerings are limitless."

Last Mile Xpress has currently tied up with Hughes Escorts which has an 'A' category license to provide Internet services across the country. The company's revenue will come from installation and maintenance as well as a percentage of the access charges which it will do on behalf of the ISP.

The service is essentially targeted at cable operators in small towns and semi urban areas where there are connectivity problems. The service would be particularly useful for offices in these areas. The scope of such service in urban areas is a little restricted because of lack of applications. Already experiments with different access technologies like DSL and cable modems have proved the urban broadband home market tough to crack.